Personality tests make it harder to âfake goodnessâÂ
Pre-employment integrity tests became more popular in the US after the use of lie detectors in hiring was banned by the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988. These tests fall into two categories: overt tests, also known as explicit tests, and covert tests, also known as implicit tests, that are personality-based.
Overt tests ask YES/NO questions, such as: âHave you ever taken office supplies home?â or âWould you take $20 from the cash register?â Others try to test altruism by asking, for example, whether you agree with the statement: âI try to help people.â But the limitations of such questioning are obvious. If youâre being hired, naturally youâre going to say whatever shows you in a good light.
In fact, the research shows implicit, personality-based tests are the most reliable predictor of ethical behavior because they make it harder to âfake goodnessâ, and I encourage organizations to include them in their screening.
Most personality tests are based on the Big Five personality traits, which were identified by researchers in the 1980s. The Big Five traits are conscientiousness, openness to experience, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism, a trait that today would probably be described as âemotionalityâ or âemotional stabilityâ.
Of the five traits, the one that correlates most strongly with integrity is conscientiousness. This trait is indicative of an individualâs diligence or ability to follow through with something, complete a task, pay attention to details, and follow the rules. Conscientious people respond particularly well to codes of conduct because they have a sense of obligation or duty to comply with what’s expected of them.
The problem with this five-factor model is that it was developed in the US using a white, male, academic sample. The model I prefer is the HEXACO Personality Inventory, which was developed cross-culturally and has been validated internationally. Researchers gave the tests in 16 different countries, and every time the results split into six factors, with the additional trait being honesty-humility. This trait has been shown to be predictive of personal integrity and ethical behaviour, so if you get a good match for those two â conscientiousness and honesty-humility â youâre off to a good start.
In fact, if you’re trying to predict ethics, or integrity on the job, it is best to use multiple hurdles in the hiring process. In a standard personality test, conscientiousness can be easy to fake, but faking is much harder in Situational Judgment Tests. A combination of personality tests, SJTs and interviews by trained interviewers to elicit historical data will give a balanced perspective on candidates.
But personality tests, like lie detectors before them, may be facing new challenges. Recent research suggests that personality tests may have difficulty distinguishing between people with psychopathic personality disorder and those on the autism spectrum. Both groups have difficulty identifying other peopleâs emotions and cognitive states; this manifests as a lack of empathy, even though the reasons why they present in this way are completely different. Organizations are not able to measure underlying mental processes at scale, and rely on empathy as a proxy indicator, so there is a risk that people with autism may be misidentified and therefore be subjected to discrimination.
As well, there are always going to be individuals who can elude the tests and present themselves as something other than they are. Machiavellians are extremely skilled in this regard. The personality trait of Machiavellianism is one of the three traits included in the Dark Triad theory of personality; the other two are psychopathy and narcissism.
Machiavellians appear to be exceptionally clever, cunning and ruthless. They can manipulate large numbers of people to get what they want. This âtalentâ extends to performance in interviews, where they are able to pick up on subtle cues from the interviewers to effectively manage the impression that they make.